Day 4 Life, Liberty and "Wicked" Happiness

Today when I went outside.....the humidity was GONE! There was a lovely breeze and I couldn't believe we were even in the same place still. I knew we were in a for a treat. Thank heavens for nice weather.

We started the day by touring Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I've seen these before so it was fun but not super meaningful for me. I tried to buy stamps here in Philly and had an interesting experience. A store clerk directed me to a stamp machine that takes only quarters. He gave me change and I put in $2.00 in quarters while my friend put in $1.00 in the other slot. She pulled out 1 stamp and I 2. The machine was charging me a dollar per stamp. I was SOOOO mad.

From here we drove to New Jersey where we boarded the ferry for Ellis Island. It was very fun to be on the ferry. To be honest Ellis Island has never meant much to me. I was not prepared for the experience I would have there. Upon entering the museum there were three people advertising for a play called "Liberty Dance". I was in the "Broadway" mood so I got some friends together and we went in to see it. We entered the theater and I was skeptical. It was a tiny theater and a simple set. The play began and I was overcome with emotion as they told the stories of several immigrants who sacrificed everything with the hopes that America would fix all their problems. For some it did, some were not allowed in because of some malady and others were split off from families. I left feeling very overwhelmed with gratitude and a little unworthy. How come I was so lucky to be born here? What makes me so special that I get to be born here while others struggle and now come here illegally? It just really struck a chord with me and though I've always been a patriot....I have a new found love and gratitude for this great country. Ellis Island was a great experience for me.



From there we headed to Liberty Island to see the statue of liberty. Once again the ferry was a treat. The statue was beautiful and we got to up into the pedestal. We took the stairs. What a beautiful sight. The NYC skyline was amazing from up there. I wish we could have gone up in the statue but its still closed. It was nice to head up into the pedestal though.

Jessica Adamson and I on the Stat of Liberty pedestal with the NYC skyline in the background

From here we took the ferry over to New York City. The city is such an interesting place. So huge. Its hard for me to believe that it is "the norm" for some people. We took the subway to our hotel. It was fun to watch the high schoolers get so excited over these big things. Many have never left Utah before or the west so it was cool to them oooh and ahhh over everything.

Our hotel is a cute old hotel in the upper west side of Manhattan. We checked in quickly. Eric and I had an interesting room this time. We got to our room and found three numbers on the door. Upon entering the room we were in a hallway with 4 doors in it. Three had room numbers and one had a bathroom. So we got to live the "shared bathroom" experience. It was uneventful for the most part. One time I left the room and then Eric heard "me" coming back so he went to open our room door but remembered he was in his garments. So he looked through the peep hole and found that it wasn't me but one of our "neighbors" talking on his cell phone in the hallway (our three room hallway) in his tighty-whiteys. It was hilarious to hear him tell the story.

From the hotel we boarded the subway to BROADWAY to go see Wicked. After a slight mix up as to where the theater was located, we arrived at the Gershwin theater with time to spare. I have seen Wicked once before and I love the story, the music and the lessons taught. I was somewhat disappointed in the leads of the play. The L.A. cast overall was much better as far as musical talent goes. The acting was still really good. I did like Galinda in L.A. better as well. Despite those disappointments I was thrilled with the story once again and was brought to tears because it was SOO good. I just loved being with good friends watching entertainment that is good and clean.

Me and Andrea after seeing Wicked

We took pictures and we all delighted in how much we had enjoyed the production, then headed back to the hotel. My friends from my ward and I stopped at a bakery and got some goodies then we headed promptly to bed tired yet satisfied and fulfilled.